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Saudis award Riyadh railway contract
Saudi Arabia's Railway Organisation (SRO) has awarded a SR2.7bn contract to a consortium to build the main railroad linking Riyadh with Qassim. The project is part of the kingdom's north-south railway, linking the northern mineral belt with Riyadh and the industrial city of Jubail. It is due to be ready for freight movement next year and passenger traffic within two years. The consortium includes China Civil Engineering Construction, which will build the track, as well as Al Ayuni Trading and Contracting and Al Abdulaziz Al Omer Establishment for Trading and Contracting.
Rashidiya Metro bridges to open
Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has said that the bridges leading to the parking areas for Rashidiya Metro station will open on the same day at the Metro itself - September 9. The bridges are designed to ease the traffic flow to and from the multi-storey parking lot, which can handle up to 2,700 cars.
Fitch reaffirms Nakilat bond to 'A+'
Qatar-based Nakilat Inc.'s Series A senior secured bonds due 2033, has been re-affirmed by credit ratings agency Fitch, at 'A+', and its subordinated second priority secured bonds, due 2033, at 'A-', both with stable outlooks. The ratings were attributed to Nakilat's stable performance, with vessel delivery expectations and construction schedule. The bonds are part of a debt programme that will finance 90% of the $7.4bn estimated delivered costs of 25 large LNG tankers that will be chartered to upstream LNG projects in Qatar.
Topaz wins Port of Fujairah contract
Topaz Energy and Marine, through its subsidiary Nico International, was awarded a contract for the construction of facilities at Oil Terminal 2, Port of Fujairah. Topaz's scope of work includes design, supply, fabrication, installation, testing and pre-commissioning of four berths Topside Facilities. (Mac Capital Advisors)
Jeddah port gets new cranes
Global marine terminal operator DP World Jeddah has bought three new Super Post Panamax cranes, which can handle Super Post Panamax vessels for Jeddah South Container Terminal. The newly delivered cranes are designed to lift 65 tonnes each and were manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry, China, the company said.
Study warns of severity of rear-seat injuries
Injuries suffered by rear-seat occupants of cars were just as severe as those of drivers and front-seat passengers, according to a study, published in the journal Injury, which collected data from Al Ain Hospital's trauma registry over a three year period. The authors said the results were a surprise because crashes with severe injuries are often head-on collisions, and front-seat passengers would be expected to fare worse because of being closer to the point of impact.
Start of Qatar-Bahrain causeway delayed
The start of construction on the $3bn Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Causeway, which was originally supposed to take place in May 2008, has been delayed for a second time and is now scheduled for 2010, Bahrain's Works Minister Fahmi al-Jowder told Gulf Daily News. He said it will take four-and-a-half years to complete work on the 40km causeway, which will incorporate a 13-metre wide railroad bridge.
Dubai to issue fines for metro offences
A list of fines has been approved for offences by Dubai bus and metro riders, including a Dhs200 ($54) penalty for any passenger who tries to use the metro without paying the appropriate fare, Gulf News has reported. Customers caught eating or drinking on the metro will be fined Dhs100, while fines of Dhs500 will be issued for offences such as destroying, damaging or tampering with devices, equipment or seats of public transport facilities and services.
Monorail to be ready for Hajj in 2010, says report
According to a report issued by Saudi Arabia's Supreme Hajj Committee, the SR6.5bn monorail project linking Mecca with the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah will be ready for use by pilgrims for the Hajj next year, Arab News has reported. The project is being implemented by a consortium of companies led by China Railway Company.
Dubai adds new bus routes to serve metro
The Public Transport Agency of Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority has said it is launching 17 new bus routes on September 1 as feeder services for Dubai Metro. The new routes will serve the metro stations of Rashidiya, Financial Centre, Mall of the Emirates and Nakheel Harbor and Tower at Dubai Marina, the agency said. The new routes of bus feeder service of Dubai Metro stations will bring the overall total to 25.
DP World buys stake in Brazil port
DP World is partnering with Brazil's Odebrecht to buy a majority stake at Embraport, a port terminal in the Brazilian city of Santos, Bloomberg has reported. The first phase of the project, which is expected to cost around $500m, is scheduled to be completed in 2012 with about one million twenty foot equivalent container units capacity and it will be operated by DP World.
Dubai metro costs soar by 80%
The chief of Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has said that cost of the emirate's metro project has shot up 80% more than originally planned to Dhs28bn ($7.62bn). Mattar al Tayer attributed the increase to major changes to the scope and design of the project.
Ten stations to open on Dubai Metro
The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has confirmed that 10 stations will open on the Dubai Metro on September 9, when the service begins operations. The 10 will be between Rashidya, which is expected to attract large numbers of commuters from neighbouring emirate Sharjah, and Nakheel Harbour, near Ibn Battuta Mall. Jebil Ali station will open later, as the RTA believes passenger numbers for the station will be lower. The remaining 29 stations will opened in batches of three, four or five, the authority said. Normal operating hours will be 6am to 11pm, except Fridays, when it will operate from 2pm to midnight. During Ramadan, it will run between 6am and midnight.
Riyadh to award $1.4bn railway contract
The Saudi Railways Organisation has asked six prequalified international consortiums to prepare bids for the second main construction contract on its high-speed railway between Mecca and Medina, Meed has reported. Bidding on the $1.4bn operations, signalling and maintenance contract will begin after Ramadan finishes in September. Prequalification for a contract to build the four stations on the railway will begin before the end of the year.
Dubai mParking now on Du
Du customers can now pay for car parking in Dubai by text using their mobile phone. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has activated the mParking service with the telco. The service is already available to Etisalat mobile phone users.
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